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The front page of today’s print edition of the Orange County Register has an article about locations to get creative and tasty pizza in Orange County — and a farewell article from Brad A. Johnson, the food critic of the Register for the last ten years.
I have been frustrated with Mr. Johnson. From my perspective perched in the northwest corner of Orange County, he seldom wrote about any of our many, many eateries. Coconut Rabbit. Shenandoah. Maderas. Dalton’s. Dominic’s. Franco’s. Gourmet Pie. Joe Schmoe’s (which is expanding, again). Chaba. Katella Deli. Original Fish Company. Griffins Grill. Kobe and Spaghettini. Practically all of Main Street in Old Town Seal Beach.
Mr. Johnson’s pizza article lists twenty places to get really good pizza — three of them are in our area if you include Anaheim.
And one is in Los Alamitos — Pietrini Pizza Napoletana at 5262 Katella Ave., sharing a building with Starbucks.
Congratulations to the Pietrini family!
Gene Pietrini, who long dreamed of opening his own pizza place, passed away suddenly late last year, not long after the family got their restaurant up and running. But the family has soldiered on, and has now collected quite a feather in their cap with a top ten ranking by Mr. Johnson.
When Pietrini Pizza Napoletana first opened, the Cypress Chamber of Commerce helped to kick off the new business with a ribbon cutting. Orange County Breeze happily covered the event, and featured the new restaurant on the cover of our August 2021 Dining, Arts, and Entertainment guide:
Our family was just there for dinner, hiding from the heat while devouring pizza. They do have a gluten-free crust, important to me because I am gluten-intolerant. I prefer a thick and chewy crust. Although their gluten-free crust is cauliflower-based and thin, it turned out to be good. I ordered and enjoyed the elote topping. Everyone else ordered a carne festa because they are unapologetic meat-eaters.
The entire staff of Orange County Breeze encourages our readers to visit Pietrini Pizza Napoletana in order to chow down on the pizza, consider a gelato for dessert, and congratulate the staff on ranking #10 in all of Orange County!
